5 ms·

I agree too. I am able to comment and add to a thread without feeling like I have to then defend my opinion or go back and answer replies. There's no responsibi

by imdsm 5y ago

I agree too. I am able to comment and add to a thread without feeling like I have to then defend my opinion or go back and answer replies. There's no responsibility, in a way, with commenting. I can add an anecdote, or ask a rhetorical question, or even crack a joke, and then move on with my curiosity. It's a good system, and makes it feel very calm here.

imiric 5y ago
What makes a forum interesting IMO is the back and forth discussion that sometimes happens, as long as it's respectful and productive. If you don't occasionally check and answer replies, you'd miss out on the chance of having your opinion challenged and having to defend or amend it, which is a good opportunity for growth. Otherwise it's akin to throwing your thoughts into the well and walking away. You might as well do that on Twitter and turn off notifications. I do think HN should have a simple notification system, with a configurable period of up to, say, a week after posting, and having the ability to mute threads. Just so that you don't miss any initial discussion on new posts, but without feeling overwhelmed or distracted by posts that are no longer news.
- pvg 5y ago
  You also "miss the opportunity" to engage in an endless, repetitive non-constructive back-and-forth which is much more common than a back-and-forth-of-personal-intellectual-growth. It's hard to believe notifications (rather than, say, deliberate personal interest and effort) would help drive the latter while we know for a fact they help generate a lot of the former.
  - imiric 5y ago
    > You also "miss the opportunity" to engage in an endless, repetitive non-constructive back-and-forth which is much more common than a back-and-forth-of-personal-intellectual-growth. On other forums maybe, but I haven't experienced much of that here. Regardless, this is clearly something _some_ users want, so that we can avoid wasting time manually hunting for new replies. For those who don't, it can be an optional feature and they wouldn't have to use it.
    - pvg 5y ago
      Sure but those users have the many options outlined in this very thread. There's also 'threads' in the top navbar which covers the basic use case reasonably well - I'm just mentioning in case you or others missed it, like I miss all sorts of weird cryptic HN features after 10+ years here.
    - JohnBooty 5y ago
      On other forums maybe, but I haven't experienced much of that here. I agree but surely this is attributable, at least in part, to the lack of a notification system?
- kodah 5y ago
  "threads" is a simple notification system, imo. That's how I follow up on discussions. It also naturally ages my attention on topics. I'm not going to be responding to three day old discussions that I've chosen in one way or another to move on from.

by imdsm 5y ago

imiric 5y ago

What makes a forum interesting IMO is the back and forth discussion that sometimes happens, as long as it's respectful and productive. If you don't occasionally check and answer replies, you'd miss out on the chance of having your opinion challenged and having to defend or amend it, which is a good opportunity for growth. Otherwise it's akin to throwing your thoughts into the well and walking away. You might as well do that on Twitter and turn off notifications. I do think HN should have a simple notification system, with a configurable period of up to, say, a week after posting, and having the ability to mute threads. Just so that you don't miss any initial discussion on new posts, but without feeling overwhelmed or distracted by posts that are no longer news.

pvg 5y ago
You also "miss the opportunity" to engage in an endless, repetitive non-constructive back-and-forth which is much more common than a back-and-forth-of-personal-intellectual-growth. It's hard to believe notifications (rather than, say, deliberate personal interest and effort) would help drive the latter while we know for a fact they help generate a lot of the former.
- imiric 5y ago
  > You also "miss the opportunity" to engage in an endless, repetitive non-constructive back-and-forth which is much more common than a back-and-forth-of-personal-intellectual-growth. On other forums maybe, but I haven't experienced much of that here. Regardless, this is clearly something _some_ users want, so that we can avoid wasting time manually hunting for new replies. For those who don't, it can be an optional feature and they wouldn't have to use it.
  - pvg 5y ago
    Sure but those users have the many options outlined in this very thread. There's also 'threads' in the top navbar which covers the basic use case reasonably well - I'm just mentioning in case you or others missed it, like I miss all sorts of weird cryptic HN features after 10+ years here.
  - JohnBooty 5y ago
    On other forums maybe, but I haven't experienced much of that here. I agree but surely this is attributable, at least in part, to the lack of a notification system?
kodah 5y ago
"threads" is a simple notification system, imo. That's how I follow up on discussions. It also naturally ages my attention on topics. I'm not going to be responding to three day old discussions that I've chosen in one way or another to move on from.